We drive up to the big red barn at Spring Valley Family Tree Farm and we’re greeted by three friendly Christmas goats visiting from Meadowlark Heritage Farm. One has a big red clanking bell around it’s neck and a reindeer horn headband. We walk into the barn and smell cinnamon sugar and sweet batter in hot oil. There is a donut cart to our right frying up fresh donuts. On the left is a wreath display and a pretty girl playing a keyboard and singing Christmas carols. At the side of the barn, outside the door to the Christmas shop, there is complementary cocoa, coffee, cookies, and candy canes. We open the door to the shop and see lovely Christmas decorations and cards and locally made soaps and jewelry.

I’m here to drop off some of my art to sell in the shop. My girls and I spy the display where they have the book I illustrated already for sale. Nearby there are some cute snowman decorations made from tree limbs. One of them reminds us of Granddad, so we buy that one for Grandma. The smiling girl behind the counter tells us that her mom made the snowmen and she painted their faces. Soon we are stirring up hot cocoa and admiring the fresh smelling Christmas trees. We see one we like. The branches are strong for heavy ornaments and the needles are short and not too prickly. The lady who owns the tree farm tells us what kind it is.

Can we get it? It is too tall for our house.

The nice man in the Carhartt jacket show us where in the fields we can find one like it only smaller. He gives us a santa hat to put on top of the tree we pick so the young man with the four wheeler and chainsaw can find it. Some families have brought their own saw to cut down a tree. They drag it back to the barn together on a tarp to keep it from getting muddy. We didn’t wear very good shoes for dragging trees, so the young man with the cowboy hat cuts it down and brings it to the barn where we pay for it.

Our tree is perfect. We are so thankful for our fun time at the Christmas tree farm!